No Lies
by Yaana
Summary: Attachment (free interpretation). Spoilers for chapter 72. Rated for language.


Written 2015-11-10, read through and uploaded 2015-12-13.

Attack on Titan belong to Hajime Isayama.

English is not my first language.

 _I can not and will not guarantee your sanity, or insanity._

 **~ No Lies ~**

He had truly meant it when those words had spilled over his mouth in rage – rage of not being able to reel in the man before him and lock him away. His icy eyes glared daggers at the commander, hoping to convey his message. The strongest man had failed the only mission he had in mind at all when he had waited for the others to leave. Basement be damned.

The evidence was strong as ever; the look the commander was giving him told him all of Erwin's commitment to sacrifice every limb if it would get humanity even closer to victory. The soldier on the other hand had grown tired of the taste of that particular possible victory, to him it would be none if Erwin went and got himself killed for _his_ ambitions.

It was only in this moment that Levi realized how the older man had come to mean more to him than the ambition that had opened Levi's eyes during his attempt to kill him. He felt his eyes close as he bowed down his head to look at the floor. The moment he had attempted to make his commander stay he had evidently lost.

"Fine", Levi bit out and paused, "you better be a damn fine bait", he corrected in a clearly annoyed voice – refusing to tell of any other emotion than annoyance at the moment. He was truly annoyed more at his oversight than anything else.

Erwin motioned to move closer as he noticed the distraught feelings the younger man tried to hide from him. "Levi-", he was cut short. "Commander Erwin, I will go ahead and brief the others about the mission", voice neutral and then he left, shutting the door with a tad more force than necessary. The other winced slightly.

The commander had understood from the very beginning that Levi had been serious about breaking his legs, though with a touch of Levi to make the breaks clean so that they would heal properly. Hence he had not hesitated for even a moment to deliver his most true feelings about how he felt about his current state and what use he may be of.

What had shocked him however, was the fact that Levi did not seem to register why he himself had said such until after the action. It was rare to see the young man contemplate on his actions in glaring silence and Erwin was rarely the cause for it. The answer he delivered could hardly be the cause as they knew each other too well to not expect what the other thought.

Erwin sat back a bit and considered all this. To truly understand Erwin only Levi was capable of, since the time he truly joined the wings of freedom, and vice versa. To say that the two men did not have anyone else would be wrong – but not entirely so.

What would he do now? A distraught Levi would make the mission doomed, however he trusted that Levi would put any distracting thoughts away during such crucial moments. If any past displays of strength by him was anything to go by then he would certainly be able to. Yet Erwin now had this urge to explain himself to the other, to tell him that this was his duty as the commander, his own personal will and most important of all a part of his grand ambition to truly share the wings of freedom with every human walking this very earth that they had been robbed of by the roaming titans.

He heaved a heavy sigh; these thoughts made him feel aged with troubles. Before he ever met Levi he had only been intrigued by the outside world, the unknown he never had been able to experience. The first time he saw Levi the captain was younger and a truly wild sparrow if he could be described as anything. When he saw him take off with the 3D-gear he could have sworn he had witnessed the wings of freedom for the first time. Levi's skill with the 3D-gear was unparalleled – Erwin had wanted him ever since. Fascination found in another was a first for Erwin. Not long after the incident he saw Levi and his friends as they set out to capture them. Everything following it was now a thing of the past. The young man never talked about it so neither did Erwin.

Erwin scratched his head. He **had** to find the other, this was driving him insane bit by bit. He coughed to clear his throat and left the room orderly as always.

He decided to search among the others first. He met a soldier in the hall and called him to ask if he had seen Levi. The soldier pointed him in the direction of the big dining room. There he found almost everyone that had been in the office earlier, he carefully scanned the room. No foul-mouthed glaring man of _smaller stature_ to be found.

"Have any of you seen Captain Levi?" Erwin asked casually, as casually he ever could ask anything. No one moved to answer but rather exchanged nervous glances. Had Levi told them off?

"It's urgent", he tried without concealing his lack of patience.

Jaeger was the one to speak up, not much to the commander's surprise. "The captain bolted the moment he heard you asking for him in the hall", the teen seemed a bit too gleeful to share something that Levi seemed to have hushed them about. Erwin settled for simply raising an eyebrow, the other caught on quickly. "That way!" the teen shot out hurriedly.

It seems Levi had taken upon himself to exit the fastest way possible as the teen pointed to a window big enough for the escapee. To his relief the window was not big enough to fit 3D-gear in the escape.

Erwin exited the door a few meters away of the window to the left. He only had time to step right outside the door and out of earshot when a voice startled him from his right side.

"I never thought I'd live the day to see you running about after your subordinates", a pause of consideration, "I got curious enough to stay to see it." Levi stood leaning his back into the wall and had his arms neatly crossed, a slight scowl evident on his face. Erwin looked down at him in silence, eyes of ridicule as if asking the younger to continue.

Levi broke the eye contact with a sigh and looked forward into the city. With a small content smile now gracing his lips he closed his eyes and lowered his voice; "I really do wish I could have broken your legs."

The commander did not know if he ought to feel honored that the man no one could get a hold of had gotten attached to him or if such brutal honesty would unsettle him. The thought of broken legs, legs broken by those hands _did_ unsettle him. A long silence followed, yet not an uncomfortable one, they enjoyed the silent company of each other.

"Erwin?" Levi was once again looking at him with his icy eyes, how contradictory that one could see the fire in them.

"Yes?" he tried, unsure of what was to be asked.

"When this mission's over…" Levi let his eyes drop and pushed himself off the wall and moved to pass Erwin, pausing as he stood beside him; able to avoid eye contact. "I will break them." Then he walked into the building again disappearing out of view.

Erwin did not move for quite some time. While it could have been interpreted as a promised breaking his legs after the mission it did sound more like.., something very unlike the man who had borne such heat in his icy eyes. Erwin truly was at a loss.


End file.
